The Need for Rest

I am huge a proponent for eating healthy, moving your body, and staying fit. My definition of staying fit has little to do with your weight and physical appearance and everything to do with how you feel. If you feel good, you’re going to make healthier choices, healthier moves, and have a healthier mindset. If you make healthier choices, you are going to feel better! I truly believe there is a strong correlation between how your mind and body feels and your overall general health and mood. Health and fitness is second nature to me, and has been such a big part of my life for so long that I often forget how intentional our commitment has to be in order to be effective in these areas. For me, planning is essential. The other day… I planned to workout… and I rarely ditch things on my to-do list (not in my nature!) but… the night before… I slept very little and was awakened by my children (and husband) more than 7 times in less than a 5-hour period. Somewhere throughout the night I scratched the idea of sleep altogether and accepted the black eyes that greeted me the next morning.

Still committed to my agenda, I dressed in workout clothes and proceeded to handle all the mom business… because it’s what we do. But when it came time for me to actually begin my workout… I changed my mind. My body ached from the previous days workout… and I was physically exhausted. So I didn’t. I set down while my children napped, and I put my feet up. As soon as bedtime came last night… I climbed right up beside my husband and ate Oreo’s with him… because that’s what I wanted to do! And this morning…. my body thanked me for that. This morning after seven plus glorious hours of uninterrupted sleep I felt amazing. My body thanked me, and it’s stronger today because of the rest I gave it yesterday. I had to be committed to making the choices that my body (and my mind) needed me to yesterday, that’s what being committed to my health meant yesterday.

So often, we get a goal in our mind, and we feel like we fail if we change that plan. Ordinarily I would have pushed through that workout and dealt with the physical repercussions for my body, but instead I chose to rest my body and my mind yesterday. I’m not advocating for being lazy and eating Oreo’s every day (I mean okay, if there was a way to have them less sugar-laden and me to keep my body healthy that way… I’d go for it…) but this is the real world and that’s not going to happen, so I’ll continue to eat real food more times than not and refrain from beating myself up when all I want to do is eat Oreo’s with my hubby… and I skip a workout.

My point is… being healthy is a feeling. Being healthy is about your body and your mind. Being healthy is not looking like your neighbor, or being the same size as your best friend. It’s not the size of your jeans, your biceps, or even the size of your ego. It’s about what you eat for breakfast, how you fuel and move your body, and how you feel after making the best choices for yourself. Emphasis on that sentence, go read it again. Make the best choices for yourself! My personal needs and goals for staying healthy is a dedicated workout more days than not and choosing the purest most wholesome foods and supplements to consume each day. That doesn’t mean I don’t eat Oreo’s or have ice cream with my kids. It means… most days… I eat very clean because it’s what makes my body feel good and gives me the energy to mom constantly. And it also means that often, when my kids want ice cream or we have guests for dinner, I’ll have a lot of something really not good for my body but good for my soul. I target to officially workout 3 to 4 times per week, but move my body every day. Off days include walks to the park, bike rides to the river, chasing my little ones outside, and some days just the sheer act of going up and down my steps what seems like 57 times for laundry, cleaning, etc. I don’t have to be in the gym lifting heavy things or doing dreaded burpees to move my body and feel strong, and neither do you. I do however, have to be in the right mindset and make the best choices for me.

Sometimes… you need to rest. Sometimes you need to put down your to-do list and your goal-list and grab a book or take a nap. ALL the time, you deserve to be kind to yourself. Don’t be your own worst critic. Don’t beat yourself up mentally or physically. Speak and act kindly towards yourself. Listen to your body. Rest your mind, rest your soul. Love yourself… and eat Oreo’s when you need to. That is all.

“By the grace of God, I am what I am…” 1 Corinthians 15:10